The Journey of Doubt and Existential Anxiety: The Aesthetics of Poetic Imagery in the Poetry of Ahmed Al-Safi Al-Najafi

Abstract

This study examines the aesthetics of poetic imagery in the poetry of Ahmed Al-Safi Al-Najafi, focusing on how the poet employs poetic imagery as a means to express his intellectual journey from certainty to doubt, and his philosophical inquiries about life, the universe, and the self. The significance of the study lies in its effort to fill a gap in the critical literature by concentrating on the artistic and aesthetic aspects of his poetry, which have not been sufficiently explored in previous studies that addressed other dimensions, such as religious intertextuality and alienation. The study aims to identify the most prominent aesthetic features of poetic imagery in Al-Najafi’s work and to elucidate how he utilized it to convey his profound ideas and existential struggles. Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach, the study uses the collection Al-Aghwar as an applied model. The findings reveal that the aesthetics of poetic imagery in his poetry rely on techniques such as antithesis, paradox, subversion of conventional concepts, and symbolism, which the poet employed to express his existential struggles, liberate himself from traditional ideas, and present an alternative vision of the universe and life.